The number of electronic accounts utilized by the average person has increased considerably in the recent past. This increase has been accompanied by a commensurate increase in the susceptibility of the average consumer to identity theft and the related harms incurred by the unauthorized access of such electronic accounts. Electronic accounts associated with financial institutions and payment services are of particular concern as unauthorized access to these accounts jeopardizes a consumer's economic well-being and creates significant fraud-related costs for society as a whole.
Recently, methods have been introduced to allow users greater degrees of security for their electronic accounts. Among other advances, there have been considerable improvements in the creation and implementation of tighter verification protocols, more accurate fraud detection methods, and faster fraud response techniques. In particular, verification protocols that combine what you know, what you have, and what you are methods of verification have significantly mitigated the potential for identity theft and unauthorized electronic account access. Furthermore, many techniques have sought to utilize faster means of processing and analyzing data for potential fraud, as well as faster means of communication, to more quickly identify and limit fraud related losses. However, the incentives for unscrupulous parties to circumvent these systems are immense, and the financial and electronic security industries need to continually innovate to stay a step ahead.
Many methods for fraud detection and account protection have centered on the production, distribution, and exchange of encrypted credentials to and among various devices involved with a transaction. The devices used in the transaction must therefore be robust enough to store and manipulate these credentials. This is often achieved through the use of onboard processing or storage components on account access devices that are exclusively utilized for fraud prevention and account security.